by Ruby Dixon
“Should I stop—” I start to ask.
His mouth claims mine, and then his tongue touches my tongue, and then we’re kissing, deep and hard and so full of hungry need that I’m whimpering into his mouth. I curl my fingers into the front of his shirt as he slicks his tongue into my mouth, the caress so boldly possessive that it takes my breath away. I’ve lost control of the kiss and I’m not even upset about it. He’s too good at this, and my body’s pulsing with heat and need as we kiss frantically, mouths locked together.
I rub against him as we kiss, rocking against the thigh I’m straddling. I’m not even aware I’m doing it until he presses up with his thigh, adding pressure against my pussy and it sends a spiral of heat through me. I gasp against his mouth, and then Liam’s rolling our twined bodies over in the back of the SUV and I’m suddenly under him and his hips rest between my thighs. That big, hard erection presses against the vee of my sex and I moan into his mouth even as he claims me with another thrust of his tongue. A moment later, when he tongues me again, his cock pushes against my core, as if trying to fuck me through my jeans.
It’s the sexiest thing ever, and I drag one leg around his hip, encouraging him. My mouth devours his, our tongues dancing together, and I’m so incredibly aroused that I can’t think straight. Haven’t Liam and I been flirting off and on for weeks now? He’s made it clear that he’s interested and I’ve pushed him away, but I’m tired of the distance between us. I want this. I want him. I tug at the waistband of his sweats, then slide my hand underneath, clenching one of his taut, rounded buttocks in my grip and driving him down against me.
Liam gasps, his mouth breaking from mine, and pulls away. He sits up, blinking down at me, and then runs a hand down his face.
I…guess we’re done?
Confused, I slide out from under him and sit upright, panting. “What’s wrong? What’d I do?”
He shakes his head as if to clear it, and then turns toward the faint breeze coming in from the broken window. “Smell something,” he mutters thickly.
Excited, I forget all about our make-out party and slide forward to get out of the back of the SUV. “Is it Benny? Is he coming back?”
Liam touches my shoulder and stops me before I can continue forward. “Not Benny,” he says, and he still sounds breathless, as if he’s on the verge of losing control. “Predator,” he manages.
Oh. I stop, then scoot back inside a few inches. “Dragons?”
“No,” he says, shaking his head. “Something else.” He scrubs a hand through his spiky hair. “Animal. Smells like…fresh blood. Hard to describe it.”
I slide forward, peering out the window he’s nearest, and try to figure out what he’s smelling. I don’t see anything, just the overgrown grasses on the side of the highway, tall and yellow with the end of summer heat. I glance up the line of cars that stretches along the edge of the road, and as I do, I see Liam’s looking at me, such hunger in his golden eyes. He’s gazing at my chest, and I glance down.
My sweat-dampened tee is clinging to my breasts, outlining them as if I’m naked, and my nipples jut out against the fabric. My thin, old bra isn’t doing a damn thing to hide the headlights, and my body pulses with the realization that he’s fascinated by them. It makes me want to preen, to arch my back and touch them and see if he’ll reach for me again. My nipples are so tight they’re practically throbbing and—
Out of the corner of my eye, I see something move in the grasses.
I turn, distracted, and my eyes go wide as I realize what it is. Something huge and tawny moves, slinking forward. A giant cat. At first I think it’s a mountain lion, but behind it, another cat jogs up and nips at the other’s flank, and that big, fuzzy mane of the second one is a dead giveaway.
These aren’t mountain lions. These are real lions.
Whaaaat the fuck.
My jaw drops and Liam touches my thigh, indicating I should be quiet and still. I don’t plan on moving. I just stare, fascinated, as they saunter past the car wreckages and then hop atop the hood of another car across the road and gaze out at the land around us. They’re less than a hundred feet away, and I feel that if I so much as breathe wrong, they’ll come over here and check things out.
“We’re downwind,” Liam says. “They don’t know we’re here.” His voice is low and smooth, his thumb rubbing against the denim on my thigh.
“Sure,” I say, because I feel like I should say something. “I can’t believe we just saw lions.”
“They’re not normal predators?”
“Not around here, no. We must be near a zoo. Did you guys have those? Places where exotic animals were kept caged so people could go look at them?”
His expression cools a little. “It sounds barbaric.”
Yeah, I guess it kind of does in hindsight. “It’s also to protect species that are in danger of dying out, but yeah, it does seem a little weird now. I think when the After hit, some of the zookeepers let the animals loose so they wouldn’t starve in their cages, you know? Give them a chance to survive on their own.” He just continues to stare at me. “Yeah, yeah, I know. You don’t think they smelled Benny, do you? That they’re chasing him?”
Liam glances out at the lions, now settling down to sun themselves atop the car. “No. I think his scent is too old. It’s more like they smelled our scent and are lingering in the area to see if we show up.”
Well, shit. “What do we do?”
He grins at me, and for a moment he looks just as dangerous as the lions. “We stay here and wait them out.”
8
ANDI
I sip the last of the warm water from my canteen, swishing it around my mouth to make it last. I feel like a baked potato after sitting in the back of the SUV all day…not that I’ve had a baked potato since the Rift hit. Man, I miss potatoes. And sour cream. I really miss sour cream.
My mouth waters at the thought and I sit up, looking around the highway. The sun’s low in the sky, ready to set in another hour or two. Everything’s quiet. The lions left a short time ago, but we’re waiting to make sure they don’t come back and Liam gives the all-clear on the scent. Next to me in the car, he dozes. Or at least he seems like he’s sleeping. He’s got one hand behind his head, his eyes closed, and he looks like the picture of comfort. Me, I haven’t been able to sleep. I watched the lions for a bit, and then I watched him.
It occurred to me after we’d been here for a few hours that I could have shot the lions. I’ve got bullets, and I’m a pretty good shot. If nothing else, the noise would probably scare them away. But…it seems wrong to try to kill them just because they wandered near us. They’re so majestic and fat and happy, lolling atop the car hood in the sun. It seems like a crime to destroy them when they’re clearly thriving in the After.
At least something is. So I don’t bother to get my gun out. I just tuck my legs close, hugging them to my chest, and watch them play until they leave, sauntering off in the grass again. I’m lost in thought, trying not to stare too hard at Liam because if I do, I’ll think about this morning’s hot, sexy kiss or the way he slid me under him so effortlessly, grinding against my pussy. It’s been a long time since I’ve had sex, and longer still since I enjoyed it.
I think I could enjoy it with Liam.
I wonder if that really does make me a tail chaser. Is it because he’s a dragon? Or is it because he’s Liam and the way he touches me makes me feel like the most treasured woman in the world? Or am I just desperate and horny? It’s been a while since I rubbed one out. I squeeze my thighs together, thinking about that. How long has it been? Over a week, I think. Maybe two? There’s been so much going on lately that I’ve just dropped into bed each night and fallen asleep. Jeez, no wonder I’m all over Liam. The guy’s probably thinking I’m so starved for sex that I’ll do anything—
“You look like you’re thinking hard,” he murmurs.
“Me? Pff. I’m just daydreaming.” I hate that my cheeks are flushing. “Thinking about Gwen and wondering
if she’s okay.” My “big sis” left a couple of weeks ago because her dragon, Vaan, was being contacted by Salorians. They went to Fort Dallas…and decided to stay to watch over the Salorian and to be a go-between since he’s interested in making peace. I worry about her a lot, so it’s an easy enough answer to say that I’m thinking of Gwen.
I don’t want to tell Liam I’m still thinking about that kiss, or the hungry way he gazed at my nipples earlier.
He sits up slowly, his head bumping against the top of the car as he does, and for a moment I see his horns peek out of his thick hair. “Vaan won’t let any harm come to her.”
“You make it sound like it’s so simple.”
He shrugs. “Drakoni males are very possessive of their mates. He’d bring the entire fort down if someone so much as looked at her wrong.”
Okay, that is pretty reassuring. I want to ask him if he’s ever wanted a mate, but my tongue feels glued to the roof of my mouth. That question won’t come out. I just nod absently.
Liam lifts his head, nostrils flaring, and then moves to one of the broken windows and sticks his head out. I know he’s testing the scents in the air, but when he leans out the window, I get an unimpeded view of his fantastic bubble of a butt and my mouth goes dry again. Sweatpants like that should be illegal. I know he’s wearing them because he’s built bigger than most human men and finding any clothes in the After (much less clothes that fit) can be a challenge. But did they have to outline his ass so perfectly? Aren’t people supposed to look like slobs in sweatpants? Because he looks scrumptious.
“I think we can leave now. I don’t smell them anymore,” Liam says, pulling my attention away from his butt. “If we stay upwind I think we’ll be fine.”
“Sounds good. I’m ready to go when you are.” I pack my now-empty water canteen in my pack, then sling it over my shoulder. I keep my gun out, just in case, and when Liam grabs his stuff and falls into step next to me, we’re off again.
And neither of us brings up the kiss from earlier. I don’t know if I’m relieved or annoyed.
We walk for the next few hours. As I suspected, we pass by a highway sign that says “Zoo ahead, next exit,” and I hope Benny was smart enough to avoid it. Liam reassures me his scent continues up the highway, and so I’m relieved. Sure enough, we get to the intersection for Interstate 20, which heads west all the way across the border and right on to Fort Dallas, and his scent turns in that direction.
That little motherfucker. He’s going to another damn fort. My worry abates for a moment and I want to choke the little bastard. Doesn’t he know that that place is dangerous? I grit my teeth as we head west along the highway, and my anger feels as hot and new as it did when I first discovered my missing socks yesterday morning. I’d love to have him back, of course, but he’d definitely get an earful from his big sister for being such an idiot.
The ruins of the old city are dense in this area, and so are the stray animals. As we walk, I see mangy dogs trotting down distant streets, and the occasional cat darting between buildings. I also see rats. Lots and lots of rats. The droppings are all over every bit of debris, and they occasionally scurry under cars as we walk past. Ugh. I rub my arms, glad that we don’t have the rat problem in Fort Shreveport. I remember them from Fort Tulsa, though, and how some of the more aggressive ones, drawn by the stink and filth of people, would climb into your bed and bite you as you slept. Horrible. But Fort Tulsa was nasty, with garbage piled high outside of houses and empty cans and dead animal carcasses lining the roads. I’m glad Shreveport’s much cleaner.
“Lots of small animals here,” Liam comments as we walk.
“Probably a lot more refuse left around.” And a lot more dead people as time passed, but I don’t say that. “There’s a lot of nooks and crannies to hide from dragons with all the buildings crowded together instead of more wide open areas.” I put my hand to my eyes, scanning the ruins around us. Building after building, most of them collapsed. Some are strip malls, some old car lots, and some buildings that are impossible to make out, their signs faded and destroyed from countless fire attacks.
“The sun’s going down,” Liam says, looking over at me. “I know you won’t want to hear this, but I think we should find shelter for the evening.”
“Shelter? But we just started walking.” I look over at him in surprise. “I can keep going!” My feet are killing me, and I’m hungry and thirsty, but I can keep going.
Liam flashes a grin in my direction. “I didn’t say you were weak. I know you’re strong, Andrea. But my concern is the animals. If there are more like those large cats—”
“Lions.”
“Lions,” he continues, “then we will be in danger. You can’t see as well in the shadows, and while I can smell things, the stench in the human-inhabited areas can get overwhelming. I don’t want you to be in danger.”
I look over at him and he’s got that twitchy look to him, as if he’s ready to jump out of his skin. His nostrils flare as I look over, and he’s right, the smells are getting to him. Stopping for the night is probably wise, even if it makes me feel like a jerk with how much I like that idea. I want to sit down, drink a ton of water, and put up my aching feet.
“But Benny…”
“We haven’t lost him yet,” Liam promises me. He puts out a hand. “Come, Andrea. Let’s sleep somewhere safe and rest up, and we’ll make good time tomorrow.”
Fair enough. “I’ll look for a good place to stop, then.”
He gives me a pleased smile, and when I put my hand in his, my skin tingles. Oh man, I have such a bad crush. I know this is going to be so much trouble but I can’t seem to help myself. I smile back.
And we keep walking. Our hands stay joined for a while, and then eventually we part, but I’m still thinking about it for a long time afterward.
Finding a spot to stop isn’t as easy as it originally sounds. As we walk, the buildings all seem tumbled together and worse than the last. I know from prior experience that it’s best to avoid hotels, motels, and food stores. Anything in this city would have been picked over long ago, and those tend to have the worst smells associated with them, from rotting food to rotting corpses. In addition, scavengers and nomads sometimes booby-trap the obvious places to catch other travelers. The trick is to find a decent building that doesn’t look too decent or comfortable.
After passing by a few more places, we find a strip mall that looks mostly intact. The roof is red and the faded red sign is completely illegible, but the few windows in the place seem to be whole. They’re covered in faded posters, which is a bonus because it means no one can see us when we’re inside. “This looks promising. Should we check it out?”
“You’re the expert,” he says easily.
I don’t know if that’s the case. Liam’s proved that he can survive with the odds completely stacked against him, in an unknown world. I don’t know that I’d be able to do the same. And he’s been to many forts before ours, so I bet he knows just as much about traveling as I do, maybe more.
But I like that he lets me lead.
So I unholster my shotgun, check the safety, and tuck it under my arm as I head forward across the small parking lot toward the building.
It looks completely deserted on the outside. That’s a good sign. That means that whatever they’re selling in here, it wasn’t a hot commodity in the After. I’m guessing something with cars, or sporting goods. No one gave a shit about baseball when the dragons arrived. The door itself is heavy glass, and while it looks fractured, it also looks whole. I give it a tug, and it doesn’t respond.
Locked.
“Give me a second,” I tell Liam, glancing down at the sidewalk I’m standing on. It’s covered in more rat droppings, so I kick them aside to clear a spot and then get on my knees. I pull out my lockpicks and get to work on the door itself. “Lucky for us, any security system they would have had is long dead. If this doesn’t work, we can try busting down the door, but I prefer to leave it whole in case we need th
e protection.”
“Very wise. And sticking those little metal things in the handle unlocks it?”
“If we’re lucky.” I grin and jiggle one of the bent metal picks, then put in my bogus key and turn the lock. It’s rusty and slow to respond, but it works. “Success,” I announce and the door swings open in a cloud of dust.
We both cough, waving a hand in front of our faces before we step inside.
“Hello?” I call into the darkness. “Is anyone here?”
“I don’t smell anyone,” Liam says behind me, but there’s an odd note in his voice. “Not anyone…recent.”
“Dead bodies?” I ask, turning to look at his silhouette, outlined in the fading light as he stands in the doorway.
“No.”
“What, then?”
“Nothing.” He coughs again and rubs his nose. “It’s nothing.”
“Liam,” I call warningly, my hands ready on my shotgun. “If there’s something dangerous—”
“Seed,” he admits after a moment. “I smell a lot of old…seed.” And he swipes at his nose again, making an unpleasant noise in his throat.
Seed? This is a feed store? Gardening? I look around, but it doesn’t look like any feed store I remember. There’s a row of doors in the back of the building, and one wall covered entirely with boxes that are too dusty to make out. There are a few short rows of shelves, but I can’t see what’s on them from my vantage point. Off to one side is a glass case and the cash register, both of which are covered in another layer of dust.
With all this dust, it’s clear to me that there’s no one around. Frowning at Liam’s reactions, I move to the case and swipe my hand over the glass, peering at the objects inside. At first I think it’s jewelry, evidenced by the large strings of beads. Then I see a strangely shaped glass object next to it, pebbled with little bumps, and off to the side of that…a gigantic dildo.
I skitter backwards in surprise.
